LSU Community University Partnership Awarded Youth Literacy Grant by Dollar General
Literacy Foundation

09/13/2012 04:31 PM

BATON ROUGE – The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded a Youth Literacy
Grant in the amount of $3,500 to LSU Community University Partnership, or CUP.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s Youth Literacy Grants are awarded to implement
new or expand existing youth literacy programs; purchase new technology or equipment
to support youth literacy initiatives; or purchase books, materials or software for
youth literary programs.

“The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is pleased to support the literacy efforts
of CUP,” said Rick Dreiling, Dollar General’s chairman and CEO. “The Youth Literacy
grants are awarded annually at the start of the school year so that the funds are
in place to have an impact on reading education and support.”

CUP will use the grant funding to launch a new literacy program titled “Literacy Lagniappe,”
a Louisiana term defined as something given gratuitously or by way of good measure.
The program will improve the reading performance of at-risk readers to the appropriate
grade level and increase the amount of reading completed by all students with incentives
for reaching reading goals. “Literacy Lagniappe” will be piloted with approximately
445 kindergarten through fifth grade students at Buchanan Elementary School, located
in the Old South Baton Rouge community.

“In the end, we hope the program helps students develop a lifelong love for reading,
paving the way to their future success,” said Brandon Smith, LSU community affairs
liaison.

As part of “Literacy Lagniappe,” access licensures to “Accelerated Reader” will be
purchased for every student, giving them full access to “Accelerated Reader” software,
learning tools, reading quizzes and literacy assessments. Additionally, more than
300 “Accelerated Reader” books will be purchased for students to use alongside the
licensures. An average of 50 books will be purchased per grade level.

CUP’s “Literacy Lagniappe” program was among 564 non-profit organizations, community
groups, schools and libraries throughout the United States to receive grant awards
totaling more than $2 million. It is estimated that approximately 315,000 youth will
be served as a result of these grants.

Since its founding, Dollar General has been committed to supporting literacy and education.
To further this support, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation was established in
1993 to improve the functional literacy of adults and families by providing grants
to nonprofit organizations dedicated to the advancement of literacy.

For more information about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation or for a complete
list of grant recipients, visit www.dgliteracy.org.

About Dollar GeneralDollar General is a leading discount retailer with 10,000 stores in 40 states. Dollar
General stores provide convenience and value to customers by offering consumable basic
items such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, and cleaning supplies, as well
as basic apparel, housewares and seasonal items at everyday low prices. The company
has a longstanding tradition of supporting literacy and education. The Dollar General
Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $74 million in grants to nonprofit organizations,
helping more than 4.4 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy,
a general education diploma or English proficiency. To learn more about Dollar General,
visit www.dollargeneral.com.

About LSU CUPThe mission of the LSU Community University Partnership is to maintain community relevancy
through outreach. CUP focuses on building relationships between campus and community
groups, activists, schools and interfaith networks. CUP strives to promote civic engagement,
increase cultural competency, challenge historic sentiment and develop new strategies
to accommodate the changing demographics of our community.